Islamabad: Eid was celebrated with fervour in parts of Pakistan's tribal regions and the northwestern Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province on Tuesday, even though an official announcement is yet to be made about the ending of the month of Ramzan.

An unofficial moon-sighting committee met in the provincial capital of Peshawar late last night and announced that Eid celebrations will be held on Tuesday, after they received several witnesses who said they had sighted the moon of the Islamic month of Shawaal.

Eid marks the culmination of the month of Ramzan during which Muslims devote much of their time to fasting and praying.

The official central moon sighting committees and the regional official moon-sighting committees will meet later this evening to decide about Eid celebrations, chairman of the central moon-sighting committee, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rahman said.

Reports said most parts in the northwest, especially Pashtoon-majority areas are celebrating Eid on Tuesday.

Congregations of Eid prayers were held in Peshawar, and in the tribal regions and several parts of the northwest under tight security measures.

Additional policemen were deployed outside mosques and open places where thousands of people offered Eid prayers.

However, many other parts in the region follow the central government decisions to celebrate Eid.

The government in the northwest did not endorse decision by the unofficial committee to announce the end of the fasting month of Ramazan late last night.

Officially, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government did not endorse the decision of Mufti Shahabuddin Popolzai, the chief cleric at Peshawar's historic Masjid Qasim Ali Khan, to celebrate Eidul Fitr on Tuesday, an official said.

It has become a common feature that people in Pakistan's northwest and tribal areas celebrate 'Eid' a day before the official announcement.

The dual celebrations in Pakistan are often attributed to a long-running dispute between Masjid Qasim Ali Khan and the official moon-sighting panel.

Mufti Popolzai's 'decree' coincided with an official announcement from the Saudi religious authorities that the Shawwal moon has been sighted and Eid ul Fitr will be celebrated in the kingdom on Tuesday.

Other Middle Eastern and Gulf states including Egypt, UAE, Qatar, Iran and Iraq also announced the end of Ramazan and Muslims in Europe and the US will also celebrate Eid on Tuesday.

In Peshawar, Mufti Popolzai told the media after a meeting of his own unofficial moon-sighting committee that they have received 'testimonies' about moon-sighting from 10 persons from different parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.